It was great at world building but I found that half the book was set up and the Princess’ stories before it got to the meat of the plot. Other than that it was funny, fantastical and fun.

We all know those fairy stories of young maidens and princesses locked up in towers, poisoned by a piece of apple, or sleeping for a hundred years, and how, just in the nick of time, a handsome prince comes riding by to save them and sweep them away to live happily ever after. But what if Prince Charming wasn't quite as honorable? What if he was actually more interested in the kingdoms' riches than any fair maiden? And if when he'd raided their treasuries he disappeared leaving a trail of broken hearts and impoverished kingdoms behind him? Yes, this Prince Charming is definitely more of a cad.


When three of his victims (you'll know them as Snow White, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty) accidentally meet and begin to swap stories, they soon realise how many young women have been conned by Charming, and how many treasuries drained by his exploits. The only thing to do is take matters into their own hands, and seek revenge.



I loved this book. It's a fun fantasy romp (none of your The Witcher style gore and bloodshed here) bringing a new slant to old fairy tales, and with three resilient heroines determined to prove they're the equal of any man, no matter how 'charming', and bring him to justice.



The story-telling moves from atmospheric and enchanting to funny to tense, the action moves along quickly, and (something that I really liked) the characters grow and change as the tale unwinds. It ends in a way that leaves the possibility of a sequel, and I for one would certainly read it.

It was a good story with an interesting twist on the classics we know and love. There were lots of questions that made you curious of the characters and their stories. All of which were answered in the end. There are a couple of plot twists that made it even better.

A retelling that merges different fairy tales; Charming meets, greets, steals and leaves. He’s a cad! Find out how our Princesses enact revenge. Doctor Rapunzel is fun.

I enjoyed this and whilst you kinda know what is likely to happen, the route is quirky and fun, keeping your attention. I read this virtually in one sitting although the early pacing could’ve been improved.

Thanks to Rebellion and Netgalley for an e-ark, all opinions are my own.

The synopsis for "Charming" sounded really promising, but I was disappointed by the execution.

The world was kind of a mix between fairytale and historical in a way that wasn’t well explained and didn’t totally make sense. There were fairies, magic, and dwarves, but also mentions of lawyers and doctorate programs. I wouldn’t have had as much of an issue with this if these were more incorporated into the world, but there were no lawyer characters or mentions of them aside from a couple modern sayings involving lawyers.

This really wasn’t my favourite retelling of any of these fairytales and mashing them all together into one story just made it more confusing. I still don’t totally get how the fairies work in this book and it was odd that they were so a part of Sleeping Beauty’s story but basically irrelevant to everyone else.

Not to mention that the minor changes made to each fairytale led to them being retold as the whole first half of the book. There weren’t enough changes to really make this feel fresh and exciting, so this part really dragged for me. I would’ve preferred this information to be sprinkled throughout the book than as whole blocks right at the beginning.

The whole tone of this book was just not what I wanted it to be. I was looking for something fun and fast-paced, but this really dragged and was far more moral than I was looking for.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Prince Jean-Marc Charming Arundel, A.K.A. Prince Charming, is not one you remember from the beloved fairytales of your childhood. No, this Prince Charming is a thief, liar, con man, a fraud. He goes from one kingdom to the next, rescuing princesses in distress, and then, on the eve of their wedding day, he absconds with their gold and jewels. He has gotten away with it until now. But a chance meeting of three of his victims – raven-haired Marie Blanche de Neige, the sorceress Doctor Emilia Rapunzel and the long-slumbering Bella Lucia dei’ Sogni – suggests a course of revenge.. The three women decide to team up to hunt Prince Charming down and recover their kingdom's treasures.

I love fairytale retellings, and this one was so much fun. It was full of dry wit that kept me laughing from start to finish. It was such a fresh take on the fairytales. I love the vigilante princesses and the rogue prince idea. The book takes turn telling each princess's story, intertwines it with their chance meeting at a wedding (of all places), and then turns to the three of them teaming up to bring him to justice. Each princess had a unique story that was somewhat different than the one that we are familiar with, as well, so that also added to the element of surprise and intrigue. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who loves a good fractured fairytale, loves a good laugh, or just wants to be told a good story.

In this twist on the old fairy tale, Prince Charming has stolen the hearts of quite a few fair maidens. The problem is he didn't stop at their hearts, he also stole from their treasuries, leaving quite a few kingdoms in trouble.
By chance, three of his victims meet and share their stories. When they realize that it was all the same man who stole from them, they team up in a change to avenge their families.
Opinion
Not going to lie, what drew me to this book first was the beautiful cover art. It is simply beautiful. After seeing it, I, of course, read the blurb about the story and was quite intrigued.
After reading it, I can say that Linwood has a unique talent in the way she writes. I would become immersed in the story and then it would switch gears (and time frames) to tell another part of the story. In the beginning, I was a bit unnerved by it. However, by the end, I looked forward to the shifts because they gave me another piece of the puzzle that I was truly vested in.
If you read my reviews, you know I am a series girl, always looking for another book. While this book did end in what could be considered a finality, there was enough of a hint at another story line that it may be in the works. If so, I will be checking it out to follow up on what is happening with Charming's victims.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Rebellion, Solaris for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Revenge plots are always fun. Give me a woman scorned any day. Charmed combines a revenge plot with another one of my favourite tropes—a fairy-tale remix setting. Jade Linwood takes elements of some of the most familiar fairy tales of the Western canon, turning their protagonists into women who are out to avenge themselves, and in some cases their countries, against none other than Prince Charming. I received an eARC from NetGalley and publisher Rebellion.

Like many fairy tales, Charmed contains stories within stories. The book opens with Prince Charming arriving to rescue Sleeping Beauty (Bella in this version). After he absconds with some of the palace wealth, the book jumps ahead to Bella meeting Marie Blanche de Neige (Snow White) and Doctor Emilia Rapunzel. These two each tell their tale in turn, and having discovered that the rogue in each tale is the same man, they make a revenge pact. The last act of the book comprises the actual plot unfolding, involving a deal with a dragon, another fairy tale protagonist, and more.

I love how Linwood has reimagined each of these protagonists. This feminist revisionism has itself almost become a trope of remixing fairy tales. Linwood takes it one step further, however, essentially syncretizing these tales into their own, imaginary European theatre. Each comes from a region clearly reminiscent of a specific part of Europe, such as Italy or France or Germany, albeit with the addition of creatures like dwarves, dragons, and demons. The three women at the centre of this story are each their own person, with different motivations, dreams, and goals. In particular, Bella proves very difficult for the other two to deal with (perhaps because her century of sleep has suspended her growth into adulthood)—however, I think Linwood makes it evident that Bella’s perspective is just as valid as Marie or Emilia’s.

The pacing of Charmed frustrated me a little, especially at first. I felt like it was taking too long to go from backstory to revenge story. I’m not sure if there is a solution for this (other than making each story-within-the-story shorter, but perhaps that would lose some of the rich character development). Similarly, I’m glad Linwood did her best to give Charming himself sympathetic motives. At the same time, the way in which that exposition is finally delivered to us was clunky.

Finally, our protagonists themselves don’t seem to grow or change all that much. We see a little bit of it in their backstories (any of which could make an interesting novel in its own right), and then the ending hints at growth that can happen now that they are each able to move on. But for the duration of the book itself, they don’t really develop as characters, which is frustrating.

Ultimately, Charmed is a charming book (yes, I went there), but like so many remixes, it felt like it was missing something. I don’t know if my bar is just too high or if I have unrealistic expectations. In any event, this is a book that has a great premise that is faithfully and competently executed—I had fun reading it over the course of an afternoon on my deck—but I’m not sure it is memorable.

In this fairytale retelling, Prince Charming is not the hero. In fact, he’s a villainous thief preying on the princesses he rescues. Described as Shrek meets John Tucker Must Die, Charming is a delightful book about female friendship, revenge, and princesses rescuing themselves.

Release Date: July 18, 2023 (TOMORROW!)

Things I LOVED about Charming:
- the humor; I was truly laughing out loud
- the world; separate fairytales were expertly woven together into one world
- Snow White’s backstory; her’s was my favorite by far from our main three, full of strength, politics, and friendly dwarf clans!
- Roland; such a fun addition to the story
- Charming’s character; he’s an enjoyable character to read about, but you also know he’s so terrible and will never root for him - such a perfect balance for the villain!

Things I didn’t love as much
- The princesses’ character development; all three of their arcs fell pretty flat for me. I was looking forward to getting more depth on each of them after such amazing backstories, but they all kind of fell into obscurity against the overall plot.
- the montage scene; I knew what it was trying to do, but it felt jumbled and overwhelmed me with proper nouns in a short amount of time.
- pacing; the middle kind of dragged a bit, but definitely picked back up by the end!

Overall, I had a great time reading this book! It gives exactly what the premise presents. It’s such a unique take on YA fantasy, and I really enjoyed its novelty. If you’re a fan of Shrek (an all-time top 5 movie for me), fun fairytale retellings, or a good laugh, Charming is a wonderful new release to pick up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing me with a digital advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion/Solaris Books, and Ms. Linwood for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

Wow, it has been a LONG time since I've read a book that so thoroughly reminded me of the fairy tales I used to read growing up. The ones in the old books I'd find at my grandparents' houses, with words I didn't know and complicated sentences and stories within stories. The Grimms, the Andersons, the random compilations of Russian and Greek and Egyptian and Nordic fairy tales. This is modern, certainly, with modern language (and with more modern humor), but it has such similar cadences of stories within stories and sentence structure. LOVE it.

Basically, a prince (probably?) named Charming - or a version of it - and his manservant/henchman/accomplice Roland are travelling the world, "saving" damsels in distress in each country or duchy or principality, etc., and then disappearing the next morning with the majority of the country or duchy or principality's treasury. More of a con man than a Prince Charming, really. And of course, he leaves the damsels in former physical distress in varying stages of emotional distress. Some are infuriated, some are heartbroken. Three such damsels encounter each other at a wedding and realize they've all been duped by the same person, whereupon they join together to stop Prince Charming from further destruction.

It's a cross between a quest, an adventure, a sting, a few fairytales clumped together, and something more modern (I've seen several references to John Tucker Must Die, although it's been ages since I watched that movie, but it might be a good fit). I really enjoyed it. The author's style was almost nostalgic for me, the way it reminded me of those old-time fairy tales. There were some good twists (or modernizations?) on the princesses; I especially liked the way the author redid Snow White (Marie Blanche). I'll be looking forward eagerly to her next book.

So much fun to read! A crazy heist fairytale that was fast paced and hilarious. Fun ending too that definitely leaves the door open just enough in case there are future books. A mixed up mashup in the best possible way.

I loved the premise of this book and couldn't wait to read it. Sadly, I found the writing fell flat and it just didn't wow me.

I thought that this was such a unique and fun concept for a book! I saw it being compared to Shrek and honestly I can definitely see that! It was lighthearted but fast-paced and featured three strong and independent women seeking revenge!

Prince Charming is everything you thought he could be, sweet, dashing and of course Charming. But what if he was also a con-artist? Saving princesses and promising marriage only to run away the next morning with half their treasure! But this time Charming swindled the wrong girls, Princess Marie Blanche de Neige (Snow White), Bella Lucia dei’ Sogni (Sleeping Beauty) and Doctor of the arcane arts, Emilia Rapunzel decide to team up and take revenge on Charming who took so much from them and many others.

The story imaginings were so good!! Snow White and Rapunzel were very original and creative! Their characters each had their own distinct personalities and strengths while Charming's character seemed simple at frist, until slowly things were revealed and the situation became that much more complex! The author left the story at a good point, while still leaving more for another book. If there is another installment I will definitely be picking it up!

Thank you to Rebellion Publishing and NetGalley for the eArc which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This was a book I was really looking forward to picking up, the premise just sounded right up my street. It’s about Prince Charming, who isn’t as princely as he seems. He quite the reputation for rescuing princesses in distress promising himself to them and then disappearing before the wedding with a good amount of their fortune in toe. That is until three said damsels come together to seek revenge.

I feel completely in love with that description and am sad to say I felt a bit like those jilted princesses when I started reading it. This book was honestly kind of boring, I just could not get into it. I didn’t care for the characters or what was happening. There unfortunately just wasn’t enough to keep my interest and I ended up DNFing.

I liked the premise of this book, and the storyline. The writing fell a bit flat for me unfortunately, and the use of slang/'old English' also seemed a bit forced at times. Put plainly, although this was a read I enjoyed, I would not reach for this book again. Definitely worth trying if you want to read something easy and light though!

This one wasn’t for me, I was really intrigued by the premise but I found the the writing style to lack depth and I felt the dialogue to be quite cringey at times.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Enjoyable fairytale romp a cross between Shrek and Princess and the bride. Enjoyable throughout but fell off a bit towards the end for me

Charming by Jade Linwood is an enchanting and whimsical fairytale retelling that will captivate readers from start to finish. Set in a kingdom filled with princesses and charming princes, the story takes a delightful twist as we meet Prince Jean-Marc Charming Arundel, a character who is far from the typical charming prince we expect. With his quick wit, cunning tactics, and mischievous ways, Prince Charming becomes a con artist and swindler, stealing from the kingdoms he promised to save. However, his crimes catch up to him when three of his victims, Marie Blanche, Doctor Emilia Rapunzel, and Bella Lucia, unite to seek revenge.

Jade Linwood's storytelling is filled with humor, adventure, and unexpected turns, making it an absolute delight to read. The playful nod to classic fairytales such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel adds an extra layer of familiarity and enjoyment. The characters are well-developed and relatable, each with their unique strengths and flaws. The camaraderie between Marie Blanche, Doctor Emilia Rapunzel, and Bella Lucia is heartwarming, and their determination to bring Prince Charming to justice keeps the readers on the edge of their seats.

Charming is a fresh and imaginative take on fairytale retellings, noted by others as blending elements of Shrek, John Tucker Must Die, and The Princess Bride into a delightful concoction of humor and adventure - which is a brilliant comparison. Jade Linwood's writing style is engaging and filled with wit, making it a breeze to devour this cozy fantasy. I found myself completely immersed in the story, eagerly turning the pages to uncover the next twist or humorous encounter. Charming is a must-read for fans of fairytale retellings and anyone who enjoys a clever and entertaining story.

I really enjoyed this book! It was silly and fun which was exactly what I needed. Would definitely read more by this author!

This could not be more delightful! A roguish, villainous Prince Charming who runs around scamming princesses (and their fathers, the kings) gets his comeuppance. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel have a chance meeting at a wedding and plan the ultimate revenge. This concept was so inventive and this book was such a fun read. Hoping to get more from this author in the future. Maybe a series...?

Special thanks to NetGalley and Solaris for this e-arc.*